Mariners Sign Felix Hernandez To Five-Year Deal

All the teams that had begun salivating over Felix Hernandez's upcoming free agency will have to wait a little longer than expected. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik officially locked Hernandez up to a five-year $78MM deal that delays the right-hander's entrance onto the open market by three years.

The contract buys out Hernandez's two remaining years of arbitration plus three years of free agency at an average annual salary of $15.6MM. FanGraphs says Felix's performance was worth exactly double that in 2009, and has been worth at least as much every year since 2007. Nearly $80MM isn't bad for a 23-year-old pitcher, and the Mariners are securing one of the game's best arms.

This past season was nothing short of brilliant for Hernandez, who posted a 2.49 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 238.2 IP. That performance led to his first All-Star game selection and a second-place finish in the American League Cy Young balloting.

The incentive-laden deal includes a $3.5MM signing bonus and has a limited no-trade clause. Felix makes $1MM if he wins a Cy Young, $500K if he finishes second, and $250K if he finishes in third.

Comments

This should be interesting, I’d assume it would be around 3 or 4 years @ roughly 12 mil a year. That’s what I’d ballpark it at. Regardless of the number, congrats to the Mariners, their GM is really working hard.

Nothing wrong with Vargas, plus I don’t think there’s much else out there for lefty relievers (spend the $$$ elsewhere). They went almost the whole season last year without a lefty reliever and it went well. As for the rest of their bullpen (Aardsma, Lowe, League, Kelley, possibly White and Corcoran), they’re pretty deep as it is.

4/48… 4/50… man, these are some lowball offers for Felix in terms of years. He’d be in line for a mammoth contract and has far more success to his credit already than names like Greinke or Johnson when they got their extensions of 4 years and roughly $9MM per.

I’d think 6/90 is a better guess for the low-end. They’ve been working toward a much larger than three- or four-year deal.

First of all, I was speaking about the team in general, but of course the re-signing is huge. I am not even a Mariner fan, but realize just how MUCH the team as a whole has improved. Including holding onto their ace, one of the better pitchers in BB with lots of room to improve.

I thought my comment was pretty clear, “The mariners, the most improved team in baseball!”

It is an absolute and tangible improvement for 2010 in that come trading deadline, there is absolutely no doubt that Felix is off the table. Whether the Ms are in it, or out of it, their focus can be to improve at the deadline either for a playoff run, or for future improvement by trading guys in a contract year like Lee/ Lopez, rather than struggle with Hernandez the way the Jays did with the Roy Halladay situation of last year.

Not to mention the future security of knowing that your rotation is anchored by one of to game’s top five for at least the next 5 years. If one doesn’t see this as an improvement, they are clearly a bitter A’s fan.

Anything less than $100M at 6 years would be a huge letdown by his agents. This kid is flat out awesome. And for most Mariners fans, if we get him at 6 years, $100M, I think there would be a huge party in the streets. In Felix We Trust!

really? You have Ichiro get a double or single steal second Figgins gets a single scoring ichiro, they are like the twins they manufacture runs. They have the best staff in the west, in the top five for the mlb. Easily a playoff team.

Still trying to find the Twins equivalent of Hernandez or Lee. Not to mention when you take into account ballpark, defense, and position into account Ichiro Suzuki, and Franklin Gutierrez are better than Morneau and Cuddyer.

He said best rotation in the AL West, not baseball. I think the staff depth is almost comparable to the Angels (a little worse) but the M’s have possibly the best 1-2 punch in baseball. I still like the Red Sox for the best rotation in baseball with Lester/Beckett/Lackey/Dice-K/Buchholz and then Wakefield as a #6 guy.

Actually, once you get past Felix, Lee and RRS you have question marks. Plus, we’re still looking for an arm (sheets/bedard level). Once that happens our rotation looks like Felix, Lee, Bedard/Sheets/Whoever, RRS and Snell. Not bad; certainly top 5 in the game. And our bullpen is very, very good.

I’d agree that the M’s could use another big bat or two, but to say they lack pitching depth is a pretty ignorant comment. Check your American League team ERA leaders for last year. Not only were they #1, the dropoff between #1 and #3 (Oakland) is huge.

Exactly even with two ace’s at the top of their rotation and an elite defense I just can’t see them scratching out enough runs with what they currently have on offense. I really like they way their team is starting to take shape but when Jose Lopez is your biggest power threat your offense can use some work.

A 4-year deal just doesn’t make sense for Felix. It delays free agency for 2 years, and it doesn’t give him the mega bucks that will give him financial security long-term (that may sound crazy, but we’re talking about 40MM$ or so here).

Agreed. For whatever reason people seem to associate Snell with his 07. That would be the only season in his entire career where the guy was decent. Maybe as a #5 he isn’t horrible but expecting him to be a big contributor would be wishful thinking.

Yeah, the love for Snell is a bit…misplaced.The M’s have a nearly unbeatable 1-2 punch, and I’m aware that they had the best ERA in baseball last year, but Washburn was pitching over his head while with the M’s. They need another reliable starter to emerge.However, with how much weaker the Angels are right now (who knows what will happen as the season plays out), I can’t fault anyone for trusting more in the M’s to win that division.

Everyone seems to grasp at straws and think that players can resume their former success. In reality, Snell’s no different from a guy like Rich Hill at this point. Snell just got the multi-year deal that Hill never did before he collapsed.

Sure he clearly has enough talent to be successful to a certain extent in the big leagues. But one good season doesn’t mean this guy can be counted on.

Good to hear. 6/100 sounds good. Anybody know anything about the Quintella guy the mariners are supposedly going to sign? a felix in the making… haha I can only have high optimism at this point in the game.

I’m just not sure how people can come in and say great signing without knowing the dollars. Here are the facts:

— This move doesn’t improve the M’s in 2010. Felix was already under contract for 2 more years.

— We don’t know what the dollars are like. This could be a GREAT signing. It could also be awful. Most likely – it’s somewhere in between. A 6/100 type deal would fall into the “somewhere in between” category.

— The M’s continue to be impressive. Hard to fault them for going hard this off-season. They have made several smart moves that help immediately but also haven’t hamstrung the club in the long-term either. I don’t think they will be a playoff team in 2010 but I do think they are set-up well for the near future. They need a big bat in the middle of the lineup and at least one more good starter to win the AL West.

Figgins will be replacing last years injury riddled Adrian Beltre, the Langerhans/Bradley/Saunders combination should easily be able to provide more production in LF than the M’s got last season, and Jack Wilson is a better hitter than Yuniesky Betancourt.

Furthermore, the M’s run prevention has improved even over what it was last year. With a full season of Jack Wilson, the addition of Casey Kotchman, and Cliff Lee this M’s team is going to be ridiculously hard to score on.

No offense, but that is a dumb argument (seriously, no offense intended).

RBIs are a result of chance and having good OB guys. In short the ability to drive in runs is not a skill. It is the product of being a good hitter and having a ton of guys on base in front of you. Being able to get on base on the other hand is a measurable skill. In the end, if you put a bunch of guys on base in front of even a league average hitter he will rack up the RBIs. Eg, bat Casey Kotchman 3rd behind Ichiro and Figgins the guy would drive in 100. All while hitting about 10 HRs.

Just compare the on base abilities of this years team to the 2009 team and you will see how much better they actually are. That with an improved starting 5, the same bullpen + Brandon League, a better overall offense and believer it or not, a better defense and this team could very well win 100 games. … Without even having a 25 HR bat.

Couting RBI’s is a silly way to measure production. RBI’s are heavily dependent on those playing around you. There is actually a very strong corellation between OBP and run scoring. The M’s have improved offensively over last year at SS, 3rd base, LF, and DH, while simultaineously improving defensively at first base, and SS, on top of adding a Cy Young caliber pitcher.

Is the offense particularly good? Not really. I’d wager they will be about average next year, to maybe slightly below. But when you prevent runs like the M’s should, that might be all you need from your offense.

Cliff Lee wanted to test the FA market when he was with the Phillies.I know I’ve spoken well for the M’s in this thread, but if he wasn’t willing to sign an extension with a World Series level team, why would he sign an extension with the M’s? They have improved, yes. But they aren’t on the same level as his previous team.

The Marlins had to lock up Josh Johnson or the MLB and MLBPA would be all over them for not using the shared revenue on “upgrading” their roster. He’ll be traded to a team as soon as possible to save the cash.

Coming from a Yanks fan, I am very happy to see this. The league needs more of the big time home-grown talent staying home, and the M’s have done so in past years with both Ichiro and now with Felix.

We’re not all greedy fools =p. Sure I’d love to have him on my team, but, for the good of baseball, I hope he stays a Mariner for as long as possible. Same for Pujols in regards to remaining a Cardinal for as long as possible.

I love to see a smaller market team get a REAL chance to fight to the top. Nailing down Felix long-term is another major step toward solidifying the M’s chances. Congratulations Mariners fans – hope to see you in the postseason soon!

I would guess that if Felix wants to become a free agent again before turning 30 (a pretty good guess), that the maximum length of the contract is 6 years (or 5 with some sort of mutual option.) Given the security of a long-term contract, the M’s probably asked for a bit of a hometown discount, given what Felix could command on the open market. Of course, there’s the injury factor to take into account as well. I’m sure the M’s want some level of protection if his elbow goes, since teams can’t insure the full length of long-term contracts anymore. If I were a betting man… 6 years, $104 million.

They still need a solid #3 for the rotation, especially if they’re going with the “run prevention” strategy over “run production.” After Felix and Lee, there’s not much to get excited about. RRS is solid and a good head, but he just isn’t a #3, and none of the other rotation candidates are even decent #4 candidates (Snell, Fister, Vargas, French, Olson, Petit, etc.) If Ben Sheets was being a little more realistic in his contract demands, the M’s might be in on him. Otherwise, they should be looking at 3 candidates: Jarrod Washburn, Vicente Padilla and Pedro Martinez. The names Doug Davis, Jon Garland and Braden Looper should NOT be on any list in Jack Z’s office. Pineiro will simply be too expensive.

Sorry to disappoint, but many of us are pleased with this. Our rotation is pretty much as deep 1-5 as yours (Though I’d definitely give the M’s the clear advantage on 1-2), so it’s not like we’re hurting for pitching. Realistically speaking, we also weren’t going to pry him away from the M’s without giving up more than any one player is worth giving up.

Would I like to see Felix pitching for my team? Yes, anyone would. That doesn’t preclude me from enjoying seeing a player actually stick with their team for once.

Meant to say “at the least as deep.” I’m honestly unfamiliar with their rotation past the number two spot, just felt I wouldn’t go the route of “oh yeah? Well we don’t need him anyway!” as I definitely wouldn’t turn down having Hernandez on my team.

I’m not going to go Homer Simpson and claim that Ryan Rowland Smith is great, but looking at his performance in the bigs over two seasons that were somewhat interupted by nagging injuries, he’s got the look of an authentic 3rd or 4th starter, and Snell, even in his current state is a decent 5th.

With those four, I wouldn’t mind plugging in Washburn on the cheap or Jon Garland on a reasonable deal into the 3rd spot. I think that’s enough to make it a legit rotation, 1-5, with 2 killers up front.

I suppose my point was that with Felix and Cliff Lee at the front of the rotation, they need a guy who will pitch 200 innings of decent baseball. Garland fits that bill, not sure where you’ve come up with your data to support the claim of him being a punching bag that couldn’t survive the NL.
Snell is a big question mark, for sure, so if he sucks there are 5th starter options.

Probably due to the fact that he was a reliever earlier in his career. When that’s the case you don’t just start out throwing 200 innings, and 7 innings a start. Over the last half of his starts in 2009 he was starting to go deep in games. He made himself more efficient by essentially trading strikeouts for groundballs, and letting the M’s ridiculous defense hoover up anything that was put in play.

I think Lee will cost at least 17M. Lee is not 23 so he will be looking to get paid. As for the Yanks, I think that if Vazquez has a decent season and the free agent are not that great, they will resign him.

You just nailed the Felix contract on the head on that one. Its heavley back loaded freeing up dollars now. Lee should get about 17M a year, but any team willing to do that for 5 years would be nuts! Pay Lee now on a 3 year contract and by the time Felix starts costing the M’s money Lee’s contract will be over. Its Brilliant!

That’s just it…I am wondering if they will be able to. Besides the M’s own financial resources (which I know nothing about), I also wonder if Lee will be able to resist the lure of hitting the open market for the first time (putting the state of the economy aside since not every player is deterred by that). It will be interesting to watch, and a great coup if they can swing it!

The more you think about this deal the better it gets. For one you get arguably the best young pitcher in the Majors and two with his signing the signing of Chone Figgins and Gutierrez and the control Ichiro you have a solid base that will be around to build off of for a long while. And with the acquisition of Milton Bradley you have a player who will easily help tide you over until next years free agency in which yu have outfielders like Jayson Werth possibly on the market. This is not mentioning Cliff Lee. So while the mariners may only have a shot at winning their division this year they are keeping their top players for the long run which gives them time to improve and not have to worry about certain positions.